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Judge rules not enough evidence to proceed in the latest rift between Ashburnham neighbors

By Michael Hartwell, mhartwell@sentinelandenterprise.com

Updated:
06/10/2014 08:08:13 AM EDT

ASHBURNHAM -- Harassment and intimidation charges against Municipal Light Board member Kevin Lashua were thrown out of court last month after Judge Timothy M. Bibaud determined the commonwealth failed to meet the burden of evidence to continue the trial.

On Oct. 8, Lashua, of 79 Fitchburg Road, was charged with failing to appear in court for allegedly violating a harassment order that kept him from going within 300 feet of his neighbor Wayne Adams' 16-year-old daughter, as well as for allegedly swerving his vehicle at Adams.

Court documents show that on May 20 in Winchendon District Court, Bibaud threw out both cases -- for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and violation of a harassment-prevention order -- after determining there was not enough evidence to proceed.

Lashua did not return a call seeking comment. A phone number previously provided by Adams was no longer in service.

Adams, of 54 Fitchburg Road, has been involved in several legal issues with Lashua and others, according to court documents provided to the Sentinel & Enterprise last year by Matt Christensen, Lashua's former attorney and longtime friend.

Adams filed a lawsuit against Lashua in 2004 over the type of fill Lashua used in a septic system on the Adams property before the family lived there. Adams won the suit and received a $32,500 settlement.

Lashua was ordered to remove the material used in the septic system, which the Adams family claimed was toxic and caused them health problems, but ended up paying the family an additional $8,000 instead.

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"Ever since, he's gone on this crusade against Kevin," said Christensen, of Adams, in an interview in October.

Court documents show there was a June 6, 2007, incident in which Adams allegedly swerved his vehicle at a car occupied by Lashua and another man, the same thing Adams accused Lashua of doing last Sept. 18. Similar incidents, with Adams behind the wheel, are alleged to have occurred in October 2009 and December 2011.

Two of those cases were thrown out of court and one resulted in a not-guilty verdict from a jury.

Christensen said last October that these incidents, and others, put Adams' decision to obtain a harassment order stipulating that Lashua stay at least 300 feet away from his daughter into context. Adams obtained the order after alleging that Lashua slowed down and stared at Adams' daughter while she waited for the school bus.

In August, Lashua told police he had to work on a septic project at the house next to Adams' property and warned police they would likely get a complaint from Adams as a result of the harassment order. Documents in Winchendon District Court showed Adams did file a complaint, and police concluded Lashua was working within the 300-foot limit from the Adams family.

Then in September, Adams claimed Lashua swerved his car at him in a threatening manner. Lashua was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

After failing to show up at a scheduled court appearance in Winchendon District Court on Oct. 8, Lashua was arrested that night. Christensen said after the arrest that Lashua did not appear in court because his current attorney, Mark O'Brien, told him the court date was delayed when it was not.

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